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North of Known

“North Of Known”, a Red Bull Media House Film documents professional paragliders Gavin McClurg and Dave Turner attempting a full, unsupported traverse of the Alaska Range by foot and paraglider, across North Americas highest mountains. The team faces endless extreme weather, starvation, grizzly bears, uncrossable rivers and countless glaciers in one of the worlds most remote and inhospitable mountain ranges. After 37 days Gavin McClurg completes the expedition solo and becomes the first person to traverse the Alaska Range by paraglider, fulfilling a dream he’d been chasing for six years.

  • Bryan Smith
    Director
    The Rockies Traverse, Locked In
  • Red Bull Media House
    Producer
  • Gavin McClurg
    Key Cast
    500 Miles to Nowhere, The Rockies Traverse, The Higher You Get
  • Dave Turner
    Key Cast
    The Man who Could Fly
  • Bryan Smith
    Writer
    The Rockies Traverse, Locked IN
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Mountain, Adventure, Expedition
  • Runtime:
    52 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    450,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED, CINEFLEX, GoPro
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Banff Mountain Film Festival
    Banff, Alberta
    Canada
    November 5, 2016
    World Premiere
  • Telluride Mountain Film Festival
    Telluride
    United States
    May 27, 2017
  • Newport Beach Film Festival
    Newport Beach
    United States
    June 1, 2017
  • Flathead Lake International Film Festival
    Polson, Montana
    United States
    January 21, 2017
    US Premiere
    Best Documentary (first place)
  • SHAFF (Sheffield Adventure Film Festival)
    Sheffield
    United Kingdom
    March 17, 2017
    UK Premiere
    Best "Spirit of Adventure"
  • VIMFF (Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival)
    Vancouver
    Canada
    February 18, 2017
    Best Canadian Film
  • LLanberis Adventure and Mountain Film Festival
    Llanberis
    United Kingdom
    March 4, 2017
  • New Zealand Mountain Film Festival
    Queenstown
    New Zealand
    June 30, 2017
    New Zealand Premiere
    Best Film on Adventurous Sports and Lifestyles
Distribution Information
  • Red Bull Media House
    Country: Austria
Director Biography - Bryan Smith

Bryan Smith is an award winning filmmaker based out of Squamish, British Columbia. His first documentary, 49 Megawatts, received acclaim both for its amazing kayaking footage and insightful exploration of the controversy over British Columbia’s river based energy production. An online version went viral and led to two-feature length sea kayaking films.

His work has appeared at numerous film festivals across the world including the prized Banff and Telluride Mountain Film Festivals. In the past few years Bryan has built on his adventure film roots and developed a strong reputation in both TV documentary and commercial cinematography. With a knack for story telling, ability to assemble great teams and an insane work ethic his client list has grown to include National Geographic, Discovery, Disney, Red Bull, Patagonia, New Belgium Brewing, Arcteryx and more.

In 2010 he earned a National Geographic Expedition Grant for his work in Kamchatka, Russia and launched into digital media co-producing and directing The Season web TV series.

He has worked as both a Field Producer and Director of Photography for National Geographic Television on shows including Alaska Wing Men, Explorer, Nat Geo Amazing and Monster Fish. Most recently he co-produced and directed The Man Who Can Fly, a 60 minute special for the National Geographic Channel Explorer series.

With extensive experience on Red, Alexa, Phantom, Sony F900, Panasonic Varicam, and just about every ENG camera platform, his experience at getting cameras into difficult and remote locations makes him an incredible asset to any production. Bryan brings a diverse perspective to non-fiction filmmaking having worked on TV, independent documentary and several commercial projects.

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Director Statement

When Gavin McClurg decided he wanted to push the boundaries of expedition paragliding, he could not have picked a more rugged, convoluted and downright burly route. In terrain where bears outnumber people, roads are non-existent and flying conditions are completely unknown, Gavin and his partner Dave Turner embark on the most remote and aggressive Vol-Bivy expedition ever attempted. Traversing the entire length of the Alaska Range unsupported.
Official Selection Banff Mountain Film Festival
Winner "Best Canadian Film" Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Winner "Best Picture Documentary Feature" Flathead Lake International Cinemafest
Winner "Best Spirit Of Adventure Film" Sheffield Adventure Film Festival
Winner "Best Film On Adventurous Sports and Lifestyles" New Zealand Mountain Film Festival
Official Selection Newport Beach Film Festival
Official Selection Doclands
Official Selection Telluride Mountain Film Festival